Yeah...most of that Hobie class info is way way out of date...

There is a Taipan 4.9 (not quite F16, no spin) in the Knoxville, TN area. Perhaps he's ready to sell it. PM me if you're interested in contacting him.

Recommended min. is 285 lbs for the H16- This is logical as that's just about the min. weight needed to right one. Of course the H16 is not really considered a solo boat for that reason.

Realistically I’d guess the minimum righting weight for the F16 would be somewhere around 190 lbs (87kg.) the Taipan would require slightly less and the Nacra 17 would require more (weight). <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

No, The F16 does not require anywhere near that much.

I am about 80kg and I've been told I'll have no problems with mine, and I believe there are even lighter sailors out there who do not have a problem righting their boats.

Yes, under the right conditions… <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

preferably sunny....

One of the class rules for the F16 is that you must be able to right the boat unaided (single or 2 handed).

Sorry, but have you tried to right an F16 ? The fact the boat CAN be righted easily, is one of the strong points. I bet the F16 is easier to right than most boats because of the light all up weight.

I'm now 70Kgs and I can right my Stealth solo in ALL conditions (in the really light stuff I have to go right to the tip of the c/board).

Yes, I HAVE pulled the boat back up in a total flat calm - we were out just having a bit of fun and capsized the boat (with a support boat nearby) to see if it would come back up.

Do they bend much? Not sure I'd want to wander to the end of mine !

No, under all conditions.

I'm 85 kg and have righted my F16 singlehandly in anything, including flat water and light winds; The conditions don't get more challenging then this. Arguably my weight is up there but then I never really felt that I was really using all of it.

Funny enough, most sailors, builders or classes don't quote righting weights for such conditions, they all assume the wind is there to help righting the boat. Therefor quoting significantly lower righting weights. As a result you will find that even boats like the H14 and H17 are a downright devil to right singlehandedly in flat water and light winds, if at all possible.

Relatively speaking, there are only one or two of boats more easily righted then a F16. A-cat is definately number 1 and the Swell Shadow is number 2. None of the Hobie's or Nacra's are more easily righted however, not even the H14.

One of the reasons for this is that (even) the F16 alu mast is 4 to 5 kg lighter then any mast used by Hobie and Nacra. The F16's with carbon masts are again a 3-4 kg lighter.

Wouter

Mary, this has long be proven to be a non-issue. We have been doing it for years now, without any significant mishap.

Of course as a sailor you must know how to traverse a big surf. No boat fancies its chances after being capsized in the surf with big breakers, not even a Hobie 16.

We really need to get over the myth that lightweight equals fragile, because it really isn't a 1+1 = 2 relationship. Not even on the beach.

I hate to say it but both my 105 kg F16 and a 150 kg Nacra 500 were blown over on the beach. The Nacra 500 snapped its mast, mine didn't. Now I guess the Nacra 500 was just unlucky, maybe his boat made some kind of freak turn that put more shock to its mast, I don't know. Point is that you just can't glance over the specs of a design and make any dependable guess about which is more fragile.

The only way to tell is to look at the way a boat is build and good the quality control was at the factory.

I dare say that the F16's have an excellent rep. sheet there. No F16 has ever been killed in the surf and not for lack of trying. See picture.

This is a Stealth F16 that ditched its crew in a big breaker and then proceeded to the next breaker and capsized. It then floated back to be picked up by the dazed crew.

Bill,




Not much really. The Taipan is actually the design the F16 class was largely modelled after.

The posts make good points. When you get back into sailing it is always a good idea to start cheap and sail for a while to see if the bug really gets you. If it does then that is the time to start looking for more modern sailing boats. Aferall there is always the chance that the bug doesn't get you and you get out of sailing again, preferably without losing too much money doing so.

F16's are good boats for people who has have done a bit of catamaran sailing already. They are afterall race boats. This doesn't mean that are particular difficult to sail but it does mean you have got to have your act together.

>>>What can you tell me about the H17?

Not too much really. I sailed the boat a few times, but that was after having sailed boats like the Hobie FX-one and Tiger, also after I sailed the Taipan. It would probably have been better if I had sailed the H17 before I sailed any of the others.

The H17 I sailed was relatively fast going upwind, I did win one little race with it. But I had no love for the fittings or the extremely low boom. I think it is a typical design of the 80's. A decent boat to be had for a modest to cheap second hand price.

I will end this post but echoing what others have been saying as well. There are more then enough skippers looking for crews. You could do alot worse then finding yourself a nice skipper with boat and sail with him for a year. Also, if you really want to own a boat yourself then test sail all the boats you can and then decide which to buy. Personal preference is indeed an important factor.

Wouter

I did not suggest the boats are too fragile. Just said I don't know much about sailing in surf.

However, I was thinking more in terms of hull design and bow shape, because from observation over the years it appears to me that some hull designs work better than others in surf.

Bill, You've gotten great advice, and if you make it to Tradewinds, you'll likely get to ride on some of those different boats. The best thing, is you'll get to meet some really great folks that will help you more than you can now imagine. Have a great time!

Bill, the last EMSA regatta was in Columbia South Carolina, The Outback Cup. We had 7 or 8 H16's, a open class of a SC 20, TheMightyHobie18, Mystere 20. an F18 class, that had 5 boats( more than half the fleet was at Tracie's wedding). I would say that typically in our sailing area we have an F18 fleet,7-10 boats(20+ at Spring Fever), a strong H16 fleet, 5 or more boats at every regatta, sometimes a TheMightyHobie18 fleet, but at least 3-4 boats typically, and an open fleet of miscellaneous Franken Boats(is that term copyrighted?)
whatever your choice, we will welcome in and find someone for you to race against.

Frankenboats versus a member of the Dead Boat Society

You probably mean the Dead Boat Society... ie those boats that once a pon atime were raced and now are by themselves

The frakenboats are those boats that have been highly customized.

Dave, you guys have already welcomed me more than all of you realize. I have never seen or received the amount of help and suggestions anywhere in my mono-hull endeavors and experiences. It seems I have been missing out on a lot of fun! Thank you everyone for the help. Looking forward to meeting you guys at the Tradewinds.